Display apparatus



July 7, 1931. D. H. WARD I DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Aug. 25, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l iNVENTOR JaVicZJZ%1'Z -ATTORNEY July 7, 1931. D. WARD DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Aug. 25, 19:50 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IVNVENTOR 01 15 19: F ZrcZ J fl 0 owsvv c a a Q r l/lallur 1d j 7 7 g M; 4 W

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ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1931 PATENT ounce" DAvID HENRY WARD, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON DISPLAY APPARATUS I I Application 'filed August 25, 1930. Serial No. 477,718.

.My invention has for its object to improve on the mechanism disclosed in my Patent No. 1,090,668 of March 17, 1914. In the patented mechanismthe sign material, housed in a circularcase under .pressure,.lost its resiliency and became shaped to the case with no means for remolding it so asqto hang straight and it was very limited in size owing to the principle of disks asa means for operation; my

present invention therefore seeks to overcome these difliculties. 1

Further, itis an objectof the invention to provide adisplay apparatus that is particularly useful intheexhibiting of signs oflarge dimensionsin a frame or case of very shallow depth and to provide such an apparatus as is particularly useful in the display of wall paper and the like.

Further, it is an object to provide a new and improved means to mountthe sheets on endless chains which pass. over rollers for feeding purposes.

Further, it is an object to provide for close tion of the sign sheet following. I Further, it is an object of the invention to provide an exhibitorin which the sheets are .5 folded crosswise so that one fold is larger bottom when the. sheet is undergoing exposure. I I

Further, it is an object to provide means to attach the sheet at the place of fold to the carrier chains at such intervals as will insure the release ofthe upper portion of the exposed sheet andthe lower portion of the sheet following at the same time.

Further, it is an object of the inventionto provide mechanism whereby when thesheet arrives at its exposed position, the short leaf of the following sheet will be free to follow the long leaf ofthe preceding sheet toward .the exhibitingposition while the longer leaf of said following sheet will still be held by pressure of the ironing rollers. I

Other objects will in part be obvious and in partbe pointed out hereinafter.

To'the'attainment of the aforesaid objects 59"- and ends,the invention still further resides in operation in the falling of the upper portion, of the sign sheet exposed and the lower p015 than the other, the shorter fold being at the the/chains 24. These chains, however, do not the novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, allof which will be first fully described in the following detailed description, then be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference NS being had which I I Figure 1 is a'perspective view' of the invention. f

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section 00 to the accompanying drawings, in

' of the same.

Figure 3 is a'detail perspective view of the upper portion the case being broken away and the sheets removed. 1 I I I Figure 4: is a detail viewfshowing the means OI of attaching the sheet to the chain.

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of'the sheet showing the attaching hooks at the fold and the cords for connecting the adjacent sheets. A I I In the drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all of the figures, 1 represents the case having the front opening 2 and being mounted on a suitable base 3.

I About midway of the height of the case there is provided an operating shaft 4 having an'outside wheel 'or handle 5 by means of which it may be turned and carrying I sprockets 6 within the case. II

A master roller 7 is mounted at the top of thecase and is provided with suitably spaced chain grooves 8 for the endless chains 24 which pass over the sprockets 6 and lie in the grooves 8. I i I 9 designates an intermediate roller located beneath and spaced some distance from the master roller 7, the intermediate roller 9 alsohaving chain grooves 10 for the reception of take around the intermediate roller as they do the master roller.

An ironing or pressing roller-:11 is provided in association with the rollers 7 and 9, the ironing roller 11 being mounted on spring rods 12, atone end of'which the shaft ends 13 of the roller 11 are carried. The other. ends of the spring rods 12 arehooked to the back of the case. I I

The sheets which'are to beexhibited are the ironing roller 11 the long leaf of the adfolded over along an edge 16 so as to leave a long leaf let and a short leaf 15. If desired the sheets may be reinforced at the fold as at 25 either by gluing a binder strip over the fold or the sheet can be made in. two leaves, one of which will be folded over the edge of the other and pasted thereto as indicated in Figure 5.

17 designates hooks which are adapted to engage in an eye of the links of the chains 24, the hooks having triangularportions 18 by means of Which the hooks may be secured to the sheets. This is preferably done by slotting the sheets or the reinforcing binder as at 19 and passing an adhesive tape 20 through the slots and through the hook eyes 18 andsecurin'g the ends of the strips by their ownadhesion to the sheet or binder strip.

Each leaf of the sheet adjacent its free end is provided with a three-sidedslot 21, leaving a dove-tail shaped tongue 22 over which the looped end of a connecting cord may be passed for tying together the adjacent leaves of adjacent sheets. 7

In placing the sheets on the conveyor chains the foldededges are so spaced apart that the free edge of the long leaf 14 and the. free edge of the next adjacent short leaf 15 of the next adjacent sheet willmatch up, see Figure 2, in order that when the sheets pass from under Vance sheet and the short leaf of the following sheet will be released together and permitted to drop down. through'the opening 2 to exhibit the following sheet, the two leaves, i. e., the lon leaf of the exhibited sheet and the short leaf of the following sheet, being tied together by the flexible connection '23, will be caused to fall simultaneously and thus insure proper exhibition of the matter contained on the sheets.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by turning the operating shaft in one direction the sheets are brought over the master roller from the back of the case, ironed out between the master and intermediate rollers by the ironing roller so that when the sheet is in the exhibiting position it will be straight and smooth throughout its length and will not retain the kinks and bends it assumes in passing around. the master roller.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

it is thought the complete construction, op

eration' and advantages of my invention willv be clear to those skilled in the art to which it relates.

What I claim is:

1'. In exhibitors of the character described, a case having a window, an endless chain sheet-conveyormounted inthe upper portion of the case and comprising an operating shaft with sprockets, an upper master roller, an intermediate roller, said rollers havingchainreceiving v,portions, endless chains. taking around said master roller and said sprockets, and a set of transversely folded sheets hingedly connected at the folded edge to said chains, means combined with said rollers for ironing out said sheets.

2. In exhibitors of the character described, a case having a window, an endless chain sheet-conveyor mounted in the upper portion of the case and comprising an operating shaft with sprockets, an upper master roller, an

intermediate roller, said rollers having chainreceiving portions, endless chains taking around. said master roller and said sprockets, and a set of transversely folded sheets hingedly connected at the folded edge to said chains, means combined with said rollers for ironing out said sheets, said sheets each comprising a long leaf and a short leaf, said sheets being so spaced 011 the chains that the long leaf of one sheet and the short leaf of the next succeeding sheet will be released from said ironing means simultaneously.

3. In exhibitors of the character described,

long leaf of one sheet and the short leafof the next succeeding sheet will be released from said ironing means simultaneously, and means connecting the adjacent leaves of adj acent sheets together,

4. In exhibitors of the endless chain carrier type, a sheet folded transversely to provide a short leaf and a long leaf, attaching hooks located at the folds of the sheet for securing the same to the chains of the carrier, a binder strip secured to the sheet adjacent the fold thereof,

and adhesive strips passing through slots in the binder strip and stuck to the strip for mounting said hooks on said sheet.

5, In exhibitors of the endless chain carrier type, a sheet folded transversely to provide a short leaf and a long leaf, attaching,

hooks located at the folds of the sheet for securing the same to the chains of the carrier, a binder strip secured to the sheet acent the fold thereof, and adhesive strips passing through slots in the binder strip and stuck to the strip for mounting said hooks on said sheet, said sheet also having dove-tail slits adjacent the free edges of the leaves thereof for receiving flexible cords to connect the leaves of adjacent sheetstogether.

6. In exhibitors of the class described-,a

case having a window, an endless-chain sheet conveyor mounted in the case, and including an operating shaft with sprockets, a conveyor chain taking around said sprockets, and a master roller around which said conveyor chain passes, a set of transversely folded sheets each having a long leaf and a short leaf, means flexibly connecting said sheets at the fold edge to said chains, and means cooperating with said conveyor for holding the longer lea-f against dropping while the chain taking around said sprockets, and a master roller around which said vconveyor chain passes, a set of transversely folded sheets each having a long leaf and a short leaf, means flexibly connecting said sheets at the fold edge to saidchains, and means cooperating with said conveyor for holding the longer leaf against dropping while the shorter leaf of the sheet is in the lowered position during exhibition, said holding means includ ing an ironing roller associated with said conveyor.

DAVID HENRY WARD. 

